Brokelyn

155 Tompkins Ave. is in Bedford-Stuyvesant, not Williamsburg.

There’s nothing frugal about this at all. I’ve bought comfortable, unique chairs on the internet for less than the cost of reupholstering that one.

Mollie has a good point. It’s a pretty cool chair, though and this list is going to come in handy for a lot of people.

If you’re paying more than $350 for reupholstering that chair, you’re being robbed. To Charlie-a good piece of furniture reupholstered is well worth the $$. A cheap chair is only a quick fix. Good furniture is like gold!

So is this chair worth recovering or not?

Maybe I have a bad eye for style, but I actually really like the way that chair looks now.

I had a chair (with 2 cushions) recovered for $250 and that included the fabric in Park Slope on 5th near Blockbuster. They even put piping around the edges. It turned out amazing and they sell really nice fabric there too.
http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=upholstery+5th+avenue+brooklyn&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&cid=2036488971740744523&li=lmd

I had a sofa upholstered by Herbert years ago and its in great condition. He’s an older retired gentleman who is quite engaging!

FYI, Das Upholstery on Cortelyou apparently only takes cash. I have seen some very nice work in their shop when I’ve walked by, and just had them fix two broken dining chairs (simple wood railback chairs which I was unable to repair myself). They charged me $75 for the two chairs, which I thought was a bit excessive, but I’m attached to the chairs and need them for a set. They turned the chairs around in 2 days and the job is OK – not stellar, but fine.

This site rocks!

To the author: is your chair done yet? Want to see the results!

I used to work at an upholstery store in Greenwich, CT. The cheapest thing you could do is get it upholstered in muslin. It’ls just white fabric but it doesn’t look so bad. Make sure to check the filling of your cushions is in good conditions too. Because if they need to be changed, it might cost extra. Also they will probably tighten the springs and all that extra stuff. Where I worked we did all that for free, but some places charge extra.

F.

My experience at Gerard Theuns was very unhappy.

He left visible rows of staples in the new fabric, making ugly seams where there had been none before (in the old upholstery).

When I complained he took them back, took out the staples and sewed the seams, but they were still visible. At $250 per chair this was a big deal for me.

Parts of the wooden frames of the chairs were also chipped and damaged in the process – they are Heywood Wakefields, and I was fond of them. I took them to Gerard Theuns because I thought they would be done well. Mistake.

Now, every time I look at them, I growl. I wanted to purr.

I used your recommendation and called F L Upholstery and he (Andres) was amazing. First of all, nearly 50% less expensive than the guys at Mod and the price included pick-up and delivery. Second, he did an outstanding job. He even called me mid-week to ask me if I wanted to have the arms and legs refinished (wood) which I hadn’t even thought about. Sweetest guy in the world. A++++

I went with F&L as well, and have only awesome things to say about Andres. One of the nicest men I’ve ever met, seriously. Took the work so seriously – we asked him to do 4 chairs, and he came back to show us the first cushion to make sure we liked it. The work is beautiful. And I’m not joking when I say he charged 25% of what we were quoted by somebody else.

Bushwick wins, but what’s the quality on the workmanship… probably poor! The average cost to reupholster that chair is approx. $350-$400…. Remember reupholster is like building a brand new chair!!! 

Probably poor?

Might be poor at the more expensive shops – like the one your clearly working for

Remember – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!!!